Senior Controller (m/f/d)

You will be the strong number 2 in the finance department of a corporate group with around €105 million in revenue — and will be building cost accounting, controlling systems, and investment controlling from scratch.

Today, those who bring non-food goods from Asia to Europe win not on purchase price, but on reliability: tested supply chains, robust certifications, predictable delivery dates. This is exactly what Carstensen has been doing since 1991 — with around 200 employees, its own offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Jakarta, and around €105 million in revenue. The plan for the coming years is set: organic growth towards €150 million, partly through a new product category.

At the same time, a group has grown around the trading house. In addition to the subsidiary Stylex, it now includes several e-commerce investments, and more are planned. Two very different business models that need to be brought together in controlling. For this, we are looking for a second strong voice in finance for Carstensen: someone who reliably handles bank reporting and group consolidation, and who also builds up areas that have been neglected so far — cost accounting, controlling systems, and investment controlling.

The leverage for this is significant. There is exactly one person above you: our CFO, who is responsible for finance, controlling, IT, and warehousing.

No matrix structure, no multi-level approval chains — daily exchange and genuine sparring. Up to seven colleagues in financial accounting will support you.

And from Q1/2027, the ERP system will be changed: As a key user in module CO, you will help shape the new controlling world from the ground up, rather than taking over an existing one.

Tasks

What you will achieve

Not a to-do list, but what should be different in twelve months:

• Bank reporting runs without rework. Monthly inventory reports and quarterly plan-vs-actual results to our financing banks are submitted on time and are reliable — you are responsible for deadlines and key figure logic.
• The financial statements are correct. Preparatory financial statements and related reconciliation work are completed before anyone asks, and withstand audits. You will contribute to the group's consolidated financial statements.
• Cost accounting exists. What is currently a gap will then be a structure: cost centers, analysis logic, and controlling processes that will hold up even as the group continues to grow.
• The data basis is sound. You will build key figures and analyses for operations yourself — using modern BI instead of established Excel islands. You will clarify root causes of errors at the source, not in the analysis.
• Investments are monitored. Reports from subsidiaries are consolidated — trading and e-commerce are readable side-by-side.
• The ERP change has started. From Q1/2027, you will be ready to act as a key user in module CO without affecting ongoing reporting.

How we work here

Carstensen is a family business, and that's not just a line in our mission statement. Management describes its leadership style as "a long leash, as long as people do a good job" — Family First is authentically lived.

• We develop decisions as a team. You must first understand existing structures — after that, we are explicitly open to changes.
• Controlling is not isolated but in direct exchange with purchasing, logistics, and operations. Those responsible for figures here talk to the people who generate them.
• Up to 2 days of home office per week are standard. More is not suitable for this role because close contact with the operational departments is half the job.
• We develop people internally and have introduced a team lead structure for this — responsibility grows here with your track record, not with your seniority. So, you have a significant influence on your journey.

Qualifications

We are less interested in the title than in two proofs: your own thesis work and your own system work in an ERP. Those who have both often fit better here than someone with a more suitable job title.

What you definitely need

• Several years of operational controlling experience: You have prepared monthly or annual financial statements yourself and been responsible for reconciliation work yourself — not just analyzed what others have provided.
• ERP depth: You work in an ERP system down to the booking and data level and build reliable key figures from it. Which system you know is secondary.
• You approach people and actively gather figures and background information from the operational departments, rather than waiting for input.
• Self-motivation that you can demonstrate: something you started without being asked and completed.
• High-level Excel skills, plus proficiency in handling databases or a BI tool — you build analyses yourself, rather than just reading them.
• Completed degree (at least Bachelor's) and fluent German.

This is a plus, but not a must

• Consolidated financial statements or consolidation from your own experience
• Reporting to financing banks, covenant or syndicated loan reporting
• Cost accounting built by yourself at least once, not just maintained
• Experience supporting an ERP implementation or having held a key user role in module CO
• Power BI, Lucanet, Access, or SQL from practical experience
• Experience in trade, import, wholesale, or logistics — daily business differs noticeably from production controlling
• Auditing or tax consulting as a financial background

Four out of six mandatory points and you are sure you can quickly catch up on the rest? Then still apply — we'll look at it together.

Benefits

The advantages for you

• One level above you, nothing more. You report directly to the group's CFO and are explicitly positioned as his deputy and sparring partner — not as a subordinate.
• Building instead of continuing. Cost accounting and controlling systems will be created with you. You are not taking over a template; you are deciding what it looks like.
• An ERP change to co-shape. From Q1/2027, you will build the controlling world in the new system as a key user in module CO from the ground up.
• Two business models in one role. Classic trading controlling and the controlling of our e-commerce investments — a breadth rarely found in companies of this size.
• A team that supports you. Six to seven colleagues in financial accounting as a separate department next door, short distances instead of a ticketing system.
• Up to 2 days of home office per week.
• A perspective that grows with you. Once the setup is running, group-level topics will open up beyond Carstensen — including for our subsidiary Stylex.

Four steps, without surprises — quality is more important to us than speed, but we won't keep you waiting.

1. Short phone call, around 15 minutes. Context, timing, salary expectations, and the question of whether the direction is right for you.
2. Video call, 45 to 60 minutes. Technical depth and an honest picture of how we work.
3. In-person meeting at the office. With the CFO — this is where most technical and personal decisions are made. You will also see the company and the team.
4. Final discussion and offer. A second meeting, attended by one of our managing shareholders, after which we will clarify the terms.

Why you should apply now

There are many controlling positions. One where the systems are not yet in place, where bank reporting is truly challenging, and where there is exactly one person above you, is significantly rarer.

If you have prepared financial statements yourself and still want to build something instead of managing it, then a first phone call is worthwhile. Twenty minutes are enough to see if it's a good fit.

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